04/26/24
November 04, 2010
Jeter, Yankee Contract Talks to Be 'All Business': Most believe Derek Jeter will be the Yankees starting shortstop when the 2011 season begins. But "business" could potentially get in the way of that happening.
For those of you who remember Willie Mays looking ridiculous in a Mets uniform to end his career, I'm not going to assume he'll retire a Yankee until it's done. True, the Yankees can throw as much money as they want at the guy, but I'm hoping Jeter can be realistic about his age and declining skills.
Then it becomes a matter of where they are going to put him in the lineup, in future years, should they sign him.
posted by dyams at 04:25 PM on November 04, 2010
For those of you who remember Willie Mays looking ridiculous in a Mets uniform to end his career ...
With Mays, though, you have to remember that he was a New York Giant for seven seasons before he became a San Francisco Giant--and left the NY fans with quite a few thrilling memories. ("The Catch", for instance.) Even after the Giants abandoned NY, there remained quite a few fans who adored Mays and continued to root for him (if not for the team). My parents were among them, and as a result Mays was my first baseball hero, though I am barely old enough to remember the NY Giants. From the time I attended my first Mets game (at the Polo Grounds!!) it had long been a dream that Mays would one day "come home" and play in New York again.
Jeter, on the other hand, makes no sense in another city or uniform (and this is coming from a dyed-in-the-wool Yankee hater!). In the end it is a question of whether Jeter, as dyam says, "can be realistic about his age and declining skill". And also whether loyalty to the fans who made him the multimillionaire he is today comes first, or loyalty to the bottom line. (It would be nice if he put the fans first and "settled" for a paltry few million.)
posted by billinnagoya at 03:56 AM on November 05, 2010
I'm curious as to which teams want Jeter at this point-or at least want him at (or close to) the price he wants. I'm guessing that list starts with the Yankees and doesn't have many other names on it.
posted by Bonkers at 05:15 AM on November 05, 2010
I guess one of my main concerns is that Jeter not feel slighted by the progress of contract talks, should they start to get a bit messy, and decide to leave for a combination of hurt feelings and pride, kind of like what Any Pettitte did a few years back with Houston (even though Pettitte was from Texas). What I've seen from Jeter's personality is he won't act on those type of feelings, but I could see a team grabbing him, probably overpaying for him, just as a way to get a great deal of attention, and to stick it to NY. I do expect him to remain a Yankee, because I think he realizes the benefits of playing his entire career with the team and retiring with them, but strange things often happen. He still has a great deal of pride and will want/demand more money than the Yankees probably ever want to give him at this point.
posted by dyams at 07:11 AM on November 05, 2010
I think the deal depends on whether Jeter can accept a contract commensurate with his age and a 2010 season that appeared to show a decline in his skills. It would be sad to see him in another uniform.
posted by rcade at 07:47 AM on November 05, 2010
You can blame this whole thing on A-Rod and the Rangers. If it were not for that single ridiculous contract salaries would not even be at this stage now. $25 million a year, what was anyone in their right minds thinking? Now 50% of that is the starting point of talks with average players with one or two good years. No wonder a warm flat beer costs $8.00.
posted by gfinsf at 10:15 AM on November 05, 2010
No wonder a warm flat beer costs $8.00.
Don't do that. The beer costs that much because they're a monopoly in the stadium and that's the price the market will bear. When you find yourself making this mistake, stop and ask, "If the players played for free, would the price change?"
posted by yerfatma at 11:00 AM on November 05, 2010
You can blame this whole thing on A-Rod and the Rangers.
Looking at the graphs of Major League salaries over time, I see no reason to believe that A Rod's deal was a big factor. The average salary jumped from around $2 million to $3 million around the time of the Texas deal, but after that they've stopped climbing each year and have stayed close to $3 million.
No wonder a warm flat beer costs $8.00.
That beer costs $8 because people are willing to pay it.
posted by rcade at 11:06 AM on November 05, 2010
Beer costs $8 because people pay it.
On edit: yeah.
posted by cl at 11:25 AM on November 05, 2010
For science, I did a beer vs. no-beer comparison while attending the three St. Pete games during Rangers/Rays. It's worth the $8.
posted by rcade at 11:42 AM on November 05, 2010
For science, I did a beer vs. no-beer comparison while attending the three St. Pete games during Rangers/Rays. It's worth the $8.
Love it.
I also don't think the salary issues and large contracts can be attributed to A-Rod or any other issue in and of itself. A problem that will always exist is a athlete coming to terms with the idea they are approaching the end of a long, often storied career. Are teams required to compensate them based on their history, and what they have brought to the team (although they no longer contribute as much), or do they stand firm and say, based on the performance we can expect, offer them something reasonable in that regard?
Jeter and his people can always say his presence in general is a positive for the team, regardless of whether his stats are decent. But is that the way it should be? I'm hoping Jeter can be reasonable with his demands, as well as whether or not he should expect to play, as time goes on, or make way for another player/prospect to begin seeing time. It's the same thing that will ultimately happen with Mariano Rivera. Even if the Yankees ante up and pay him what he wants, do they still have to play him for the duration of the contract, until he retires? It turns into a tough situation unless the player can realistically look at the situation for what it is.
posted by dyams at 01:27 PM on November 05, 2010
Beer costs $8 because people pay it.
Here's a tip. Buy one of these guys, empty out half (or more) of the water. Fill it with your clear alcoholic beverage of choice (Stoli for me) and you are good to go.
The only place I was stopped with one of these bad boys? Airport security.
posted by cjets at 02:01 PM on November 05, 2010
If you can clue me in on any of the four major pro sports venues where crappy light beer is sold at a discount, I'd love to know it. At half the price it's still a rip off. For less than $20 (deposit included) I can get a 30 pack of decent Canadian beer.
posted by dyams at 04:03 PM on November 05, 2010
Why do we pay so much at new ballparks and stadiums? Easy:
Consider the quantity of any concession sold to be proportional to the number of people who attend an event, measured as the quantity of tickets sold, i.e., QC = QT , where 0 is per-attendee demand. The demand for tickets is a function of the ticket price, quality of play, and other team, city, and stadium characteristics, i.e., QT = QT (PT ; T;C; S), where T is a vector of team characteristics, C is a vector of city characteristics, and S is a vector of stadium characteristics.
Per-attendee demand is assumed to be a function of the concession's price and a vector of stadium characteristics, i.e., = (PC; S). Therefore, total quantity of concessions sold can be formalized as QC = (PC; S)QT (PT ; T;C; S). Given the cost of providing a particular concession, w, the team owner maximizes prot by setting marginal revenue equal to marginal cost, given that the quantity of tickets sold is predetermined. This yields the equilibrium price and quantity of concessions sold, P C , and Q C, respectively.
From:
New Stadiums and Concession Prices in Professional Football and
Baseball
Craig A. Depken, II
Department of Economics
University of Texas at Arlington
posted by gfinsf at 05:42 AM on November 06, 2010
That clears that up.
posted by dyams at 09:45 AM on November 06, 2010
Way too early on a saturday morning, gfinsf.
posted by cjets at 10:46 AM on November 06, 2010
Consider the quantity of any concession sold to be proportional to the number of people who attend an event, measured as the quantity of tickets sold, i.e., QC = QT , where 0 is per-attendee demand. The demand for tickets is a function of the ticket price, quality of play, and other team, city, and stadium characteristics, i.e., QT = QT (PT ; T;C; S), where T is a vector of team characteristics, C is a vector of city characteristics, and S is a vector of stadium characteristics.
I'm not sure what you are trying to prove, except that you reinforced the position that player salaries have nothing to do with the price of beer in a stadium.
No where in that calculation is a team's payroll mentioned.
The closest mention to it MIGHT be the nebulous "team characteristics". Team characteristics would be the ability for a team to win games and contain "popular" players (so fans would come out to watch them win, or lose with players they enjoy). None of those characteristics involve the salary a player makes, and therefore the team payroll.
posted by grum@work at 03:04 PM on November 06, 2010
And giving a 6 year contract to a 37 year old shortstop would not be considered good business.
I'm pretty sure Jeter and the Yanks can come to an agreement that allows him to retire a Yankee.
I'm certain there are no other teams out there willing to give him a 6 year contract or match what the Yanks can pay him.